Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Attempting to Entice a 13-Year-Old Child to Engage in Sexual Activity

Jacksonville, Florida - Tony Leroy Bartley, Jr. (37, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to using the internet to attempt to entice a 13-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Bartley faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison and a potential lifetime term of supervised release. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 21, 2026. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.

According to court documents, between June 17 and July 30, 2025, an FBI agent (UC) in Jacksonville was conducting an undercover operation on an online social media application ("app") to identify adults who were seeking to make online contact with and engage in sexual activity with children. On July 25, 26, and 29, 2025, UC and app user "keven" exchanged several private online messages on the app and via text message. After UC advised app user "keven" that "she" was only 13 years old, app user "keven" suggested that they engage in sexual activity texting, among other things, "I want you bad." App user "keven," who was subsequently identified as Bartley, described sexual acts that he wanted to perform on the "child," and sent an explicit photo of himself to the "child."

On August 5, 2025, Bartley was arrested by FBI agents near his apartment in Jacksonville. During an interview, Bartley admitted that he had recently communicated online with a girl who was "underage" and that he had discussed having sexual activity with the "child." Bartley added, "I should have stopped at 13, and that's on me."

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown.

It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify, rescue, and seek justice for child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.